About 400 languages are spoken in Nigeria but only few literary works have
been written in any of the major languages, e.g. Yoruba or Igbo (though there
is a substantial body of literature in Haussa). Most writers have adopted
the language of the colonizers which is also the official language of the
country. But Nigerians, as colonized people and settler communities elsewhere,
have adapted, changed, violated (?), reduced and enriched the English language.
Today, there exists a broad continuum from Nigerian Standard English to Nigerian
Popular English, as well as a variety of West African Pidgin English. Fiction
writers make full use of these varieties of English and of Pidgin.

We will look at the history and socio-cultural context of English in Nigeria,
study Pidgin grammar and vocabulary and analyse fictional and non-fictional
texts. Study material will be provided, a Grundstudium Schein in Sprach-
oder Literaturwissenschaft (depending on your focus) may be earned by regular
participation and an oral presentation (written version to be submitted later).
Topics will be assigned in class.

Week 11: Presentation by Students: 3. Oral Style in Anthills of the Savannah.
4. Proper Pidgin or Literary Pidgin in Anthills of the Savannah?

Week 12: Presentation by Students: 5. Functions of Language in Anthills
of the Savannah. 6. Comparison of the speech of the old man from
Abazon (Chapter Nine) with Ikem's lecture and discussion at the University
of Bassa (Chapter Twelve) in Anthills of the Savannah

Week 13: Presentation by Students: 7. Language as Artifact in Soza Boy.
8. Problems of a Translation of Soza Boy into German.

About 400 different languages are spoken in the West African country of Nigeria.
They belong to three African language families, namely the :Niger-Cordofanian,
the Nilo-Saharan and the Afro-Asiatic family.

The three largest language groups in Nigeria are Hausa in the North (23.2
million speakers), Yoruba in the Southwest (22.6 million speakers) and Igbo
in the Southeast (18.4 million speakers). Another 9 languages have more than
one million speakers each. Altogether, these twelve major languages are the
mother tongues of 90% of the population in Nigeria.

Some of the Nigerian languages are tonal languages, e.g. Yoruba and Igbo.
In a tonal language, a difference in pitch in an otherwise identical syllable
indicates a change of meaning. For instance, the Yoruba word ko
means on a high pitch to learn, on a middle pitch to
write, and on a low pitch to refuse.

Only about 120 of the Nigerian indigenous languages have been studied in
depth with regard to their orthographic, grammatical and lexical systems.

Brief History of English in Nigeria

The Portuguese were the first Europeans who traded pepper and slaves from
the Nigerian coastal area. They first arrived in Benin (city) at the end
of the 15th century. From the mid 16th century, the British took over as
major trading partners. With the abolition of the slave trade at the beginning
of the 19th century, British colonial interests shifted to agricultural
production for exportation to Europe.

In 1842 and 1846 the first missionary stations were established in Badagry
(near Lagos in the Southwest) and Calabar (in the Southeast) respectively.
The missionaries were mainly interested in spreading Christianity among the
African pagans. In the schools they established in the Southern part of Nigeria
(they were not allowed to settle in the Islamic North of the country) they
also taught agriculture, crafts and hygiene. In order to easily reach the
population, the language of instruction was usually the mother tongue of
the indigenous people. But the Africans refused to send their children to
school because they needed them to work in the house and on the farms.
Consequently, the missionaries paid compensation to the parents. All the
same, the first generation of students was made up mainly of children of
slaves who the village communities thought they would not miss much.

The British colonial government increasingly felt the need for Africans who
were literate in English and would serve British colonial and trade interests
(for instance as teachers, interpreters and clerks for local native courts
and the trading companies). Therefore, missionary stations were ordered in
the 1880s to teach English in their schools. In the long run, however, the
missionary schools were unable to meet the demands for educated Nigerians,
and the colonial government began to establish state schools from the turn
of the century on. The first state school was in fact founded as a result
of pressure from Muslims in Lagos in 1899 who had no access to missionary
schools and felt they were at a disadvantage.

1.1.2.3. Reclassification of countable nouns as uncountable: give chance,
take bribe, make mistake

1.1.3. Progressive in State Verbs: I am seeing/hearing/smelling. I am not
having much money. Let me be going.

1.1.4. Object Patterns: He allowed them go. She made him to work hard. The
child refused going to bed. She avoided to meet him. She didn't arrive on
time - she always likes to disappoint. It was a wonderful party - we enjoyed!

1.1.5. Prepositional and Non-Prepositional Verbs: You should dispose your
car. Why did you not reply my letter? The library comprises of many sections.
They are demanding for money. He emphasized on the importance of rest. I
regret of not arriving earlier. Let us request for more lectures.

1.2. Inflexion

1.2.1. Indiscriminate Use of Infinitive/Basic Form: Yesterday they go to
your office. She cook delicious peppersoup.

1.3.1. Shift of Sense or Reference: Rice is too cheap nowadays, unlike what
it was last year. His hand pained him too much that he could hardly write.

1.3.2. Prepositions: in --> at: at my old age, of --> at: as at now,
on --> at: at my arrival, at --> on: on the table, in --> on: to
deal on, in --> with: with the belief, for --> to: I left Lagos to
Ibadan, except --> unless: Nobody knows the answer, unless myself, unless
--> except: You cannot receive the money except you show your I.D. card

1.3.3. Tense

1.3.3.1. Past Perfect Instead of Present Perfect: In 1986 the nation was
selling her crude oil at 28 Naira per barrel. Today, the price of oil had
tumbled to an all-time low of 10 Naira per barrel.

1.3.3.2. Might Have: After the referee might have arrived the match will
begin.

1.3.3.3. Reported Speech: Yusuf said he is entering the house when his brother
drove up.

1.4. Copying (syntactically redundant use of words):

1.4.1. Subject Copying: My father he works under NEPA.

1.4.2. Object Copying in Relative Clauses: The car which he bought it last
year is already giving trouble.

1.4.3. Relative and Possessive Sequence: I know the man who his father died.

1.4.4. of Before which: It was a very horrible experience of which
I hope it will not happen again.

1.4.5. Other Cases: in case --> should in case, better --> more better,
can --> can be able, repeat --> repeat again

1.5. Ordering

1.5.1. Demonstrative + Possessive + Noun: this town of ours --> this our
town

1.5.2. No Reversal of Inversion after Wh-Words in Indirect Speech: He asked
me what was the time.

2.2. Dress: agbada (Yoruba: large gown worn by men, often embroidered at
the neck and cuffs and with flowing sleeves that can be hitched over the
shoulders), danshiki (Hausa: gown with wide armpits reaching to the knees)

2.3. Forms of Address and Titles: alhaji (Haussa: Muslim who has been to
Mecca), oba (Yoruba: primarily a specific title, often used loosely to refer
to any traditional ruler), obi, eze (Igbo: specific titles), oga (Yoruba:
big man, master, fairly general in the South), baba (Haussa, Yoruba: father,
old man, fairly general in the West and North)